Only testimony necessary to support this award will be reviewed and summarized.
Claimant: Claimant testified that he began working in Employer's foundry in March 2002. He functioned as a molder, and his job duties included pouring melted molten from a steel pot that moved on an elevated conveyor belt. Claimant testified that he released a latch to tilt the pot and pour the mold. On May 6, 2002, Claimant testified that he felt a pop in his left shoulder when he missed a latch while attempting to tilt the pot to pour. Claimant immediately notified his supervisor "Kenny" about the incident, and Claimant finished his shift.
Claimant testified that Employer fired him because of "lawsuits" on May 9, 2002. At the time of termination, no mention was made by Employer of his recent injury, and no medical care was provided. On June 29, 2002, Claimant sought medical treatment with Dr. Poetz, and received treatment for approximately one month. Claimant's current left shoulder complaints include weakness and the inability to play basketball. Claimant acknowledged previous work injuries, but doesn't recall if he injured his left shoulder during those injuries.
Upon cross-examination, Claimant was confronted with evidence of twelve previous reports of injury filed by his prior employers, and not disclosed on his employment application. Claimant responded that he had told Employer's Human Resource representative that he did not list all his prior injuries because he could not remember them, despite receiving large settlements with some of the injuries. Claimant testified he was told if he couldn't remember not to list the injuries.
Claimant was also confronted with the differing history of the injury he provided to subsequent examining physicians. Dr. Poetz and Dr. Burke were told that the injury occurred while Claimant was pulling molten metal pots on a conveyer belt when the belt got stuck, forcing Claimant to pull harder injuring his left shoulder (Exhibit A \&1). Claimant responded that he told the physicians what had happened. Claimant contends that he was told for two months that he was an excellent worker, only to later concede that he was hired on April 24, 2002 and fired on May 9, 2002.
Rudolph C. May: Mr. May is a safety director for Employer. Mr. May confirmed that Claimant was hired in late April 2002. Mr. May was present when Claimant was terminated, and testified Claimant did not mention a recent work injury, or make a request for medical treatment. Mr. May first became aware of an alleged injury when he received notice of the injury from the Division of Workers' Compensation in July 2002.
Upon cross-examination, Mr. May acknowledged he was not present when Claimant completed his job application. Mr. May also acknowledged he did not ask Claimant if he was injured when he was terminated.
Kenneth Ray Smith: Mr. Smith has been a supervisor for Employer since 1995, and was Claimant's supervisor. On the alleged date of injury, two lines were in production. Mr. Smith testified Claimant worked on the C-line, which required an employee to pour using their right hand/arm. Mr. Smith indicated that an employee on that line could use only one hand to pour, the right, while the left hand rests while pouring. Mr. Smith testified that there were no conveyor breakdowns during the time of alleged injury, and Claimant never notified him that he had been injured. Mr. Smith enters all injuries, no matter how slight, into a log. Mr. May is notified of the injury, and medical care is offered if needed. Mr. Smith testified that his log for the alleged date of injury does not reflect an entry concerning Claimant (Exhibit 6).
Upon cross-examination, Mr. Smith acknowledged that he has been told in the past that potlatches would stick, but there were no latches on C-line. Only when three lines are in use are latches used. Mr. Smith conceded that he has no specific recollection of the alleged date of injury, because nothing unusual happened that day.